And william kent



(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 1.

A. SPRINGER & W. KENT.

AUTOMATIC GRAIN METER Patented Dec. 18, 1888.

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(No Model.)

A. SPRINGER 85 W. KENT.

AUTOMATIC GRAIN METER.

No. 394,665. Patented Dec. 18, 1888.

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A. SPRINGER '& W. KENT.

( No Model.)

AUTOMATIC GRAIN METER.

No. 394,665. Patented Dec. 18, 1888.

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erence to automatic meters or UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ALFRED SPRINGER, OF CINCINNATI, OHIO, AND IVILIIIAM KENT, OF PASSAIC, NEIV JERSEY.

AUTOMATIC GRAIN-METER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 394,665, dated December 18, 1888. Application filed March 9, 1888. Serial No. 266,657. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, ALFRED SPRINGER, of Cincinnati, Hamilton county, Ohio, and IVIL- LIAM KENT, of Passaic, Passaic county, New Jersey, both citizens of the Ynited States, have invented certain new and useful Improve ments in Automatic Grain-Scales; and we do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

. Our invention relates to certain new and useful improven'ients in meters or scales for automatically weighing grain and the like, similar in the main principles of their construction to the scales described in Letters Patent previously issued to us, Nos. 3653M, 365,875, 365,870, and 365,877, July 5, 1887.

Our invention therefore has especial refscales, preferably using as pivots of rotation stretched wires or hands acting torsionally.

The object. of our invention is to insure a positive and uniform action to the buckets, while at the same time the supply of grain is so regulated and finally cut off that the amount of grain which falls into the bucket after full weight has been given is reduced to a minimum.

IVith these ends in view our invention consists in certain details of construction and combination of elements, such as will be hereinafter fully set forth, and then specifically designated by the claims.

In order that those skilled in the art to which our invention appertains may fully understand the same, we will proceed to describe the same in detail, referring by letter to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, and in which- Figure l is a front elevation illustrating our invention; Fig. 2, a section taken at the line a: of Fig. 1; Fig. 3, a front elevation with the buckets broken away and the frame removed, showing the application of flexure pivotal or rocking points to our invention; Fig. i, a section taken at the line y y of Fig. 3; Fig. 5, a front elevation with the buckets broken away, illustrating the manner in which connection with our invention; and Fig. 0, a side elevation of the construction shown at Fig. 5.

Similar letters denote like parts in the several figures of the drawings.

A is an endless band or wire stretched tightly over the truss B.

C O are grain-buckets rigidly secured together and also rigidly fastened to the truss B.

D is a pedestal having uprights D, to which latter the lower portion of the wire A is firmly clamped by means of caps a and screws b. The buckets with the truss are thus pivotally attached to the pedestal by the wire A, and are free to oscillate between any desired limits, which movement is readily permitted and aided by the torsional yielding of the wire.

E is a yoke clamped to the upper section of the wire A and carrying at each end trapdoors F F. This yoke thus torsionally pivoted is free to oscillate between limits which are determined and fixed by the relative angles of the bottoms of the buckets and of the trap-doors themselves, so as to alternately open and close the bottoms of the respective buckets, as will be presently explained.

To the upper part of the yoke E is rigidly secured an upwardly-projecting rod or support, R, carrying a heavy poise, P, adjustable upon it. The center of gravity of the yoke E is accordingly above its center of oscillation,

. and the system composed of the yoke, poise,

and trap-doors is therefore top-heavy and always tends to fall in one direction or the other, thus leaving one of the buckets open and the other closed. The bucket is held closed by a force which is dependent upon the weight of the poise P, the length of the rod R, and on the degree of divergence of the latter from a perpendicular. Stops T maybe located either on the frame G, as seen at Fig. 2, or they may be attached directly to the buckets, as seen at Fig. 3, against which stops the rod R is adapted to abut, thus limiting its oscillation. The center of gravity of the buckets being far above their common torsional pivotal point, they are likewise topheavy and tend to fall to one side or the other,

' ordinary journalpivots maybe utilized in 50 this movement being limited bystops S S, secured to the frame G.

J is another torsion band or wire tightly stretched around a truss, I, the latter formed 5 with or rigidly secured to uprights L, projecting from a pedestal, Q, which latter is mounted upon the frame G. A rod, K, carrying a poise, \V, is clamped to the upper section of this wire J, and is free to oscillate IO between stops M M, which are secured to the frame G. j

O is a spout or funnel above the buckets, and N a cut-off plate attached to and bridging the mouths of the buckets C C. To the edge of the spout O are attached thin strips of leather or other suitable material, which act as a flexible extension to said spout.

The operation of our improvement is as follows: The bucket C resting against the stop S, and the bucket 0 having its trapdoor closed by the gravitating action of the poise P, which latter has fallen toward the bucket O, and the weight XV resting against the stop M through the medium of the rod K, grain is allowed to pour through the spout 0 into the bucket O. \Vhen enough grain has entered this bucket C so that its weight overbalances the gravitating action of the whole structure which holds the bucket C against the stop S, said bucket will begin to swing away from said stop. When a small distance has been traveled, the bucket 0 comes in contact with the weight XV, whose supporting-rod K has hitherto rested against the stop 3 5 M and not against the movable structure, and

has up to this time exercised no force upon the bucket C to prevent its movement. The stop M may be so adjusted with relation to the weight 7 that when the movement of the bucket has been checked by said weight, as

above setforth, the cut-off plate N will have been carried underneath the spout O to a sufficient extent to cut off to any desired degreesay three-fourths-the supply of grain 5 which has hitherto poured into the bucket.

Grain now continues to fall through the diminished spout area into this bucket O, and therefore the filling of the latter is continued until enough more grain has entered said bucket to overcome the additional resistance introduced by the weight \V, when said bucket will swing again, carrying with it the weight \V, until the latter falls suddenly by gravity against the opposite stop, M, thereby allowing said bucket so relieved to drop imthe spout 0. During the swing of the buckets from one side to the other the poise P, which rests against the stop T at one side, through the medium of the rod R, will be carried by the empty bucket until said poise is 6 5 nearly over the center of gravity in avertical line, when the weight of grain in the other bucket will overbalance the said poise, and

thereby throw open the trap-door of this last- .named bucket, the door of the other bucket being simultaneously closed by the continued swing or fall of said poise and held in this position by the weight of said poise, as hereinbefore set forth. It will thus be seen that the weight P performs the double function of holding the trap-doors closed and of acting as a counterpoise to the grain to be weighed. The stops S S are yielding, but not-to such a degree as to cause a rebound of the buckets, it being only desirable in this respect to prevent too heavy a shock when the buckets swing to normal position from one side to the other. In fact, although it is not absolutely necessary, we prefer to make all the stops slightly resilient, so as to afford cushions for the abutting parts.

The construction of the stops which act as cushions for the buckets is as follows: Projecting from the frame G are two standards, V, which support two hollow boxes, X, and extending loosely through the latter are the stop-pins S S. Rigidly secured to each of these pins is a collar, Y, and around the pins and between. the collars and the outer walls of the boxes are coil-springs Z, which exert a force to keep the pins extended inward in their normal position. As the buckets strike these stops the latter will be forced backward against the resiliency of the springs; but when the springs react the stops have only a limited movement, owing to the abutment of the collars against the boxes, thus insuring the positive action of the bucketsin coming to a predetermined state of rest without any danger whatever of a rebound or overthrow. The stops may of course be made adjustable in order that they may be properly located with regard to the normal position of the buckets.

\Ve do not wish to limit ourselves to the torsional pivoting of the buckets and poise systems, since our present invention has nothing whatever to do with the advantages and peculiarities of a torsional pivot.

Knife-edged, tiexure, journal, or point pivots may be readily utilized with no change whatever in the construction or operation of our improvement.

In Fig. 3 we have shown the buckets secured to cross-frames A, which latter are firmly clamped to the middle of a flexible strip, B, projecting from the-upright D. To the top of this flexible strip is clamped the trap-door yoke E. There are two poises P, located on rods R, projecting from the yoke E at each end thereof in the front and rear of the buck ets. The style of pivot thus shown and described is well known as a fiexure rocking pivot, and it will be thus readily seen that this kind of pivot can be utilized in carrying out our invention.

It perfect accuracy is not aimed atas, for instance, in weighing gross substances, such as coal-a cheaperconstruction of pivot mechanism may be employed, similar to that illust 'ated at Figs. 5 and 6, wherein we have shown trap-doors is precisely as we have above set forth relative to Figs. 1 and 2.

The function of the cut-off plate N being to shut off a part of the stream of grain as soon as the buckets begin their movement, itis evident that the width of said cut-off plate should have such a relation to the extent of oscillation of the buckets that the edge of the mouth of the bucket to be filled should be close to the flexible mouth of the spout 0, so that the slightest swing of said bucket will cause the area of the stream of grain from the spout to be diminished by the cut-ofi plate. It is also evident that the amount of grain weighed at each oscillation of the buckets will vary with E the extent of oscillation allowed to said buck- 1 ets; or, in other words, the amount weighed will vary according to the extent of the deflection of the eounterpoised buckets from a vertical line. IVhen the extent. of oscillation is adjusted to vary the weight discharged at each movement of the buckets, the width of the plate N should be varied also, so that the normal location of its edges will always be at or near the outer edge of the spout-extension. This may be effected by making the cut-off plate in two sections, one adjustable on the other, or by substituting plates of difierent widths.

The extension acts as a wiper, which sweeps the plate and at the same time prevents the escape of the grain. It will thus be understood that the gist of our invention rests in the broad idea of retarding the motion of the buckets as they swing from side to side during the process of filling, whereby the supply of grain is partially cut off and gradually re- 1 duced, thus affording a scale whose weighing capacity is accurate and uniform in all instances, and also in so swinging and counterpoising the trap-doors that they will alternately open and close the bottoms of the buckets.

sistance located within the field of travel of said buckets, substz-mtially as and for the purposes set forth;

2. In an automatic grainmeter, the combination, with a pair of buckets adapted to swing synchronously from a common pivotal point, of a pair of trap-doors termed integral or rigidly secured together and haying a pivotal poiiit independent of the buckets, and a top-heavy projection extended within the active field of the buckets, said doors adapted to be operated by the buckets to alternately open and close the bottoms of the latter, substantially as and for the purposes hereinhefore set forth.

3. In combination with a pair of buckets adapted to swing alternately beneath and beyond a supply-spout, a retarding-weight pivoted independent of said buckets within the active field of the latter and adapted to be thrown toward and from the buckets by their reciprocation, whereby a check is alternately afforded to the swinging buckets. substan tially as shown and described.

a. In an automatic grain-meter, the combi nation of a pairof buckets rigidly secured together and having a common pivotal or rocking point, a pivoted yoke having rigidly extending therefrom a pair of trap-doors at an angle to each other, and a counterpoise to said yoke and doors suspended above their pivotal point, substantially as and for the purposes hereinbefore set forth.

Having thus fully described our invention,

what we claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In an automatic grainmeter, the combii nation of a pair of buckets rigidly secured tol gether and having a common pivotal or rocking point, a cut-off plate bridging the space between the mouths of said buckets, a supply- 1 spout above the buckets, and a yielding re- 1 5. In an automatic grain-meter, the combination, with a truss having stretched thereon an endless band of wire, the lower section of the latter being torsionally clamped to stationary uprights, of a pair of buckets rigidly secured to said truss and a pair of trap-doors pivoted torsionally to the upper section of said wire, substantially as set forth.

6. In an automatic grain meter, the combination, with the weighingbuckets, of yielding stops having a fixed and limited reaction, said stops located at the sides of the buckets and adapted to receive the shock of the latter as they swing to and fro during the operation of weighing, substantially as shown and described.

In testimony whereof we ai'fix on r signal ures in presence of two witnesses.

ALFRED SPRINGER. WILLIAM KENT.

vfitnesses as to the signature of Alfred 1 Springer:

W. M. Doasuv, L. M. Hosea. Witnesses as to the signature of \Villiam Kent:

WM. W. JExKs, 11E. Bnoannnanow.

IIO 

